EverAfter
by Amaya-Mizuki
Summary: It’s been a year since graduation and since Tohru’s broken the curse.Tohru,Kyo,and Yuki have moved out of Shigure’s house and are moving on with their lives.Suddenly Tohru runs into them 1 day. What happens next?Mainly Kyoru with some YukiMachi & UoKureno
1. Tohru

!Hola everyone! (That's espanol for hi!) and welcome to my first fanfiction! No flames please and don't 4get to R&R!!

Summary: It's been a year since graduation and since Tohru's broken the curse. Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki have moved out of Shigure's house and are moving on w/their lives and have lost touch with each other. Suddenly Tohru runs into them unexpectedly one day. What happens next? Will their friendships be renewed? Mainly KyoXTohru with some YukiXMachi and KurenoXArisa

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fruits Basket in any way, shape, or form. But I'm sure you knew that already, didn't you? If I did, why would I be writing a fanfiction about it? So why do we have to do this disclaimer thing anyway? You know I don't own it.

**Chapter 1: Tohru**

Friday, September 4

Tohru woke to the sound of her alarm clock. It read 6:30 a.m. _'Time to get up,'_ she decided, _'I don't want to be late for work.'_

Tohru got up and got dressed into her work uniform and then quickly grabbed herself a bowl of cereal. She didn't have enough time to actually cook breakfast anymore, like she used to when she was living at the Sohma's house. Plus she didn't really have the motivation to cook anyways. All's she had time for anymore was work. Work, work, work. _'Isn't there anything else to life besides work?'_ Tohru wondered sadly.

"No," she said (to herself), "I can't let myself get depressed! I have had a better life than most can even ask for. I had a mother that loved me, I have the two best friends in the world, Grandpa is so kind to me, I got to stay with the Sohmas for most of high school and I got to learn so much about them. I have so much to be thankful for."

Even still, Tohru couldn't help but look back on the days she spent in the Sohma house rather wistfully. She had to admit, she really did miss it, _all_ of it: making dinner for them, all the trips to the different summer houses, gardening with Yuki, sitting on the roof with Kyo…even Kyo's and Yuki's constant fighting was something that she missed now. At least with their fighting it had made the house seem loud and alive; the apartment she had now was empty and quiet and…lonely.

Sighing, Tohru headed into her tiny bathroom and proceeded to brush her hair and teeth. _'What happened?'_ Tohru thought, _'When did we grow distant? Why have we grown apart?'_

But Tohru already knew the answers to her own questions. It was quite simple actually. They had grown-up. They'd moved on with their lives. That phase of their life was over. Unfortunately, growing up had meant going their separate ways. There just wasn't enough room or time for each other in their new lives.

Rinsing out her mouth, Tohru grabbed her purse. She hadn't put on any make-up or done her hair in any special way. _'Why bother?'_ she thought, _'It's not like I'm trying to impress anyone anyways.'_

And with that, Tohru headed out the door and off to work, her thoughts still back in happier times.

**So? What'd ya think? Was it good? Poor Tohru. She's so depressed, but don't worry! She's not gonna be like that for long! Next chapter's from Kyo's POV. R&R Plz!!**


	2. Kyo

YAY!! 3 WHOLE REVIEWS!!!! I'M SO PROUD!!!!!AND DID YOU KNOW THAT 3 IS ONE OF MY LUCKY NUMBERS!?!?! YAY ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Special thanks to Reno's perfection, JLrocks23, and AKITO. At The Disco for reviewing my first story ever!!!

**Disclaimer: **Okay so I don't own Fruits Basket and I never will, k? You got that? Okay, good, now on with the story!

**Chapter 2: Kyo**

Friday, September 4

Kyo woke up early, as always. This morning he happened to wake up just as the sun was starting to come over the horizon. Lying in his bed, relaxing for a few minutes, Kyo watched as it slowly rose, shining its brilliant rays on a new day. _'Another day without her,'_ he thought sadly.

It had been just barely over a year since Kyo, Tohru, Yuki, and Machi had graduated and the curse had been broken. 'It's also been a year since I last saw **her**.' he thought with a small, sad smile.

He still wasn't quite sure of how the curse had been broken. Nobody really seemed to want to tell him exactly how it happened. When he'd asked Hatori he had muttered something about Akito's death, but that was all Kyo had been able to get out of him. Not that he particularly cared, really. Just as long as it was broken and Kyo didn't have to be put in confinement, he didn't really care _how_ it got broken just as long as it _was_.

Kyo tried not to think about _her_, Tohru, too much, but sometimes when he wasn't active or distracted, when he was just lying in bed awake, the unwanted thoughts would well-up inside of him and the memories would flash inside his head until he couldn't take it anymore. Usually at times like now.

_-flashback-_

_It was his last day of school. Forever. He would never come back, never return. Ever. Today was the last day he would be a high school-er, his last day of childhood before he had to start his own life and decide what to do with it._

_It was a pretty pointless day of school, actually. They'd already finished their finals and the graduation ceremony wasn't until later on tonight, so they weren't doing anything today. Basically it was just a free day. Everyone was chatting about their plans for after high school. Everyone appeared to be extremely carefree today, especially the Sohmas, since the curse had finally been broken only a couple of days ago. Everyone was extremely happy now that they were free from the curse and Akito was finally dead. Unfortunately for Kyo, there was still one unfinished matter still looming over his head. Something he had to do soon. Something he had to tell **her**..._

"_Kyo-kun!"_

_Kyo snapped out of his trance with a start. Standing over him was Tohru Honda._

"_Hmm?"_

"_Are you okay Kyo-kun? You don't look well, are you sick?! What's the matter?!?!" Tohru asked frantically, concern clear in her eyes._

"_I'm fine," Kyo replied, "I was just thinking about...never mind. It doesn't matter."_

"_Eh?"_

"_Just don't worry about me," Kyo said while standing up, "You worry too much anyways. Besides, I'm fine, so it doesn't matter. Just forget about it." Kyo smiled down at her warmly._

_Tohru blushed, "O-Okay!"_

"_Hey, Tohru! Orange head! Over here!" Arisa called, waving them over to wear Hanajima and she were standing._

"_Yes?!" Tohru asked when she, (and Kyo), had reached them._

"_Just wanted to let you know that me and Hanajima are coming over to your guys' place tonight and we're having a sleep-over graduation party. So send out some invitations. Got it?"_

"_What?!" Kyo protested furiously, "You can't just **invite** yourselves over!"_

"_Why not?" Hanajima asked coolly, giving him one of her emotionless, cold stares._

"_Because-because…" Kyo stuttered._

"_Oh, please Kyo-kun!" Tohru pleaded, "It would be so much fun! We could play cards and watch a movie and invite some of the Sohmas over too! It's the perfect opportunity to get everyone together to celebrate!"_

_Kyo looked down at her and saw the adorable look on her face and he blushed. He just couldn't help it. 'She's just so damn cute!' he thought inwardly._

"_Argh! Fine! Do whatever you want! I don't care," Kyo said defeated, (Man, that guy just can't say no to Tohru!)._

"_Yay!!" Tohru exclaimed, "I'll go send out the invitations right now!" and then she left._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_**Later that night:**_

_Kyo was sitting on the couch next to Tohru, and Yuki was on the other side of her, with Machi on the other side of him. Everyone was watching a movie, (Mogetta!sp?), but Kyo wasn't really paying attention. He was trying to think of a way to tell Tohru the truth about how he felt and how he was going to get a chance to talk to her alone and away from everyone else._

_Tohru started to lean against him, interrupting his whirling thoughts. Very carefully he put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. Blushing, Kyo turned his head away so she wouldn't be able to see his face turning beet red._

_Trying to distract himself from the fact that Tohru was resting her head on him, he started looking at everyone around him. Tohru had invited a lot of people, that was for sure._

_Hanajima and Uotani were sitting on the floor next to Kureno. Now that the curse was lifted, Kureno and Arisa could finally be together. It wasn't official, but you could tell from just the way that they acted around each other that they were in love._

_Also sitting on the floor was Momiji, Kisa, and Hiro. Kyo couldn't quite tell from his angle, but it looked like Kisa and Hiro were holding hands (A/N: aww! how cute!)._

_On the loveseat, Rin and Haru were sitting together. After Tohru had broken the curse Rin and Haru had gotten back together and you never saw a cuter couple, (A/N: besides Kyo and Tohru of course! D)._

_Kagura was invited, but she had other plans and was unable to come. Ayame had showed up earlier, (uninvited, I might add), but before he was able to cause too much damage, Hatori had stepped in and picked him up. He had taken Shigure with so they'd be able to have some peace and alone time without Shigure interrupting and embarrassing them or something along those lines._

_While Kyo was still immersed in his thoughts, the movie ended. Everyone started stretching and discussing the movie. This made him snap back into reality._

"_Did you like the movie Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked._

"_Uh…yeah, it was okay, I guess…"Kyo muttered while quickly taking his arm off of Tohru's shoulder._

"_I'm glad you liked it Kyo-kun!" she said before standing up and walking away with everyone else to go get ready for bed._

"_Yeah…" he said as he watched her leave._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_After everyone was finished getting ready, they were all sitting in Tohru's room talking. Kyo sat silently in a corner as he waited impatiently for Tohru to finish her conversation with Yuki and Machi. When she finally did, Kyo grabbed the opportunity and went straight over to Tohru._

"_Can I talk to you for a minute?" Kyo asked in a low voice._

"_Eh! Yes, of course you can Kyo-kun! What is it?" Tohru replied._

"_Is it okay if we talk in private?" he asked while glancing around them, hoping no one had heard him._

"_Sure!" And with that Tohru followed Kyo out of the room and onto the roof. Once on the roof, several long minutes of awkward silence passed between them. When Tohru finally couldn't take it anymore, she spoke up, "What's the matter Kyo-kun?"_

_Kyo didn't answer. There were several battles raging inside his head. He had to tell her now, or else he'd never get the chance to tell her._

"_Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked worriedly._

"_Tohru," Kyo began, "There's something important you should know. Something I need to tell you."_

_Kyo turned around to face Tohru and he took a deep breath._

"_Tohru, I…I lo—_

"_Tohru!" It was Uotani with Hanajima right behind her._

"_We were wandering where you went! C'mon, let's go back in. It's almost time to go to bed," Arisa Uotani said._

"_You shouldn't leave without telling us Tohru-kun, we were worried," Saki Hanajima said from behind her._

"_I'm sorry I worried you!" Tohru replied._

"_Nah! Don't sweat it!" Arisa said, "But c'mon down, it really is time to go to bed."_

"_But…um, ah, Kyo-kun?" Tohru said flustered," What was it you were going to tell me?"_

_Kyo flushed. 'Like I can tell her in front of that yankee and the psychic freak' he thought._

"_Never mind," he said, "It doesn't matter. It was nothing. Let's just go."_

"_Um, well, that is, if you say so Kyo-kun," and then Tohru proceeded to head down the ladder after her friends._

_It wasn't until Tohru went back inside that Kyo finally stood up and climbed down the ladder himself. 'I was too late' he thought while he climbed down, 'I lost my chance. I can never tell her. I was too late.'_

**And that ends the second chapter. I really hope you liked it. I promise they'll be meeting again soon. This really isn't a depressing story, it just seems like that right now. Next chapter is told from Yuki's POV and the one after that is told from Tohru's again. R&R Plz!**


	3. Yuki

**An Important Note before we get started: In my ficcy Machi is the same age as Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki, (instead of a grade behind them). Also, after the curse was broken, Yuki told Machi pretty much everything. So she knows all about the curse already.**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket. Simple as that.

**Chapter 3: Yuki**

Friday, September 4

Yuki woke up very late in the morning, (or was it really early in the afternoon…?), and he rolled over in bed to see Machi still asleep beside him. Like Yuki, Machi wasn't exactly someone you'd call a 'morning person.'

Yuki got up and sighed. He supposed he'd better get up and order take-out for breakfast again, seeing as neither Machi or he were very good cooks. Yuki sighed again. In that one respect, Yuki felt as though he'd reverted to the days he'd spent in Shigure's house before Tohru came along and truthfully, he missed having a delicious homemade breakfast everyday.

Truth be told, he missed a lot about those days actually, not that he didn't like where he was now. He missed Tohru the most though. When Tohru first moved in with the Sohmas, he thought he might "like" her. With time he grew to love her. But it was a different kind of love. It was more of a motherly/sisterly kind of love. He had later fallen in love with Machi.

He had been going out with Machi for a little over a year and now he knew what it was like to be in love. Tohru had been a wonderful friend and had always listened to his problems, but Machi was special to him. She aroused feelings in him that he never knew he possessed. Machi and Tohru both had a healing effect on him, but with Machi he could give something back. Machi was special to him and he was special to her as well.

Yuki put a pot of water on the stove in order to make some tea, (one of the few things he _was_ capable of making), then he grabbed the phone and ordered take-out, (he knows the # off by heart). After placing his order, Yuki sat down at the small kitchen table in the small house that he and Machi owned.

Yuki could remember most of the time he spent in Shigure's house with Tohru and Kyo very clearly. Like, he remembered when Tohru first discovered their secret, giving her his return gift on white day, how happy he was when she started calling him by his first name, his numerous fights with Kyo, confessing to Tohru that he saw her as a motherly figure, the day Tohru broke the curse…

That last day in particular stood out vividly in Yuki's mind. He remembered watching Akito's confrontation with Tohru, he remembered coming out of hiding to stand beside her and he remembered standing up to Akito. He remembered Tohru's confession…and the shocked look on Akito's face as the curse of the zodiac lifted. And he remembered Akito's final look of anger as he realized he'd lost them, and in doing so had lost everything. And in losing everything, he remembered Akito dying. There was no warning. One minute he was there, the next he wasn't. Not that Yuki particularly cared. Akito didn't mean anything to him anymore; Akito hadn't done anything but cause pain for him and now Yuki was ready to let the hurt emotions go with Akito. They were all a thing of the past now.

And then that was it. It was over. Everything, all of it was over, just like that. A few days later they graduated. Tohru got a full time job at a coffee shop and moved out of the Sohma house into an apartment of her own. Kyo had moved out as well and Shishou had retired early, (A/N: God knows the Sohma family can afford it), so that Kyo could inherit his dojo. Last Yuki had heard Kyo was living in a small apartment of his own just a few blocks away from the dojo. As for Yuki, he had stayed at Shigure's house for a while longer before finally deciding that it was time for him to move on too. So Machi and he had bought a small house together, (A/N: again this is only possible b/c the Sohma's are loaded), in one of the smaller, quieter areas of the city. Currently, Machi had a full time job as a secretary and Yuki was in college and also had a part time job as a waiter at a restaurant.

The tea pot started to whistle and Yuki got up and fixed two cups of hot tea. Just as he finished adding sugar into the tea cups, the door bell rang. He went to receive the take-out, and when he came back to the kitchen he saw that Machi was already sipping her tea at the kitchen table. Grabbing his mug, he sat down next to Machi and began serving take-out.

"Morning sleepy-head," Yuki said with a smile.

"G' morning," Machi replied while stifling a yawn.

_'The great thing about Machi,' _Yuki thought, _'is that she makes me feel special. I can talk to her about anything and she's completely okay with it. And she understands. She understands how I feel and what I'm thinking about.'_

"Yuki? Is something wrong?" Machi asked, "You look troubled."

Yuki looked away, "It's stupid. Don't worry about it."

Machi clasped her hand in his, "Please tell me, Yuki," she whispered softly.

So of course Yuki did.

"I've been thinking about the day Tohru broke the curse," Yuki confessed, "and all the different changes that have occurred since then."

Yuki paused to take a drink of his tea, "And I was just thinking about how I really do miss hanging out with everyone. I wish we all hadn't drifted a part."

"Me too," Machi said solemnly.

"And that day—that day just keeps going over and over again in my mind. Especially Tohru's confession. I just can't get it out of my head. I even feel a little bad that Kyo never got to hear it," Yuki said sadly.

Although Yuki and Kyo had fought in the past, the two had gotten along at least O.K. ever since the curse was broken.

"Yuki, it's not your fault. And besides that, you can't change the past. I'm sure Kyo and Tohru are both doing fine, wherever they're at now," Machi consoled him.

"But even still…"

"Even still," Machi agreed.

A moment passed while both of them were silent, each caught up in their own thoughts.

"Well, I have to get ready for work and you should probably start getting ready for work too," Machi said finally while starting to clear the table.

"Yeah…" Yuki said, "Yeah, you're probably right."

Machi stopped and looked up at him. She smiled a small, pretty, reassuring smile and Yuki smiled back down at her. Then, standing on her tip toes, Machi kissed him affectionately on the cheek.

"I love you, Yuki," Machi said.

"I love you too, Machi."

And with that Machi and Yuki proceeded to get ready, but Yuki was still dwelling upon that memory that seemed so long ago now…

**Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! I'm glad you all like the story so much!! So, I have obliged and I have updated. That's twice in one day! YAY!!!! Thanks again to AKITO. At The Disco, JLrocks23, and Reno's perfection for reviewing AGAIN!!! D And thanks to JennyKim319 and strangelove for reviewing too! Sorry strangelove, I love Hana too but this story isn't about her. She's a pretty hard character to write about (for me anyways) but I still love her! Anyways, the next chapter is Tohru's POV again and we're finally gonna get the full story on what exactly happened with the encounter between Tohru and Akito! GASP! What will happen next?!(oh wait I'm the writer! I already know what happens!! D) PEACE OUT!**


	4. Nightmares

**Before we start I'd like to thank all my reviewers for reviewing the story:**

**AKITO. At The Disco: Lol. Now you'll know what happens too.**

**tohrukun92126: I'm srry you don't like YukiXMachi, but I'm glad you still like my story so far! Don't worry, Kyo and Tohru will be meeting up soon! I promise!**

**Pure Shikon: Thanks for reviewing! I updated so I hope you like this chapter!**

**JLrocks23: Glad you like YukiXMachi. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks again for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer:** Me no own Furuba.

**Chapter 4: Nightmares**

Saturday, September 15

-Tohru-

_"I know you're searching for a way to end the curse, Tohru Honda," Akito said while sneering at her, "but surely by this time you've found the answer…there is none! It doesn't exist!" Akito laughed wickedly._

_Tohru just stood there silently. It was true that she had no luck in finding a way to break the curse, but that didn't mean there wasn't a way…did it? 'There had to be a way!' she thought desperately, 'There just has to be!'_

"_Just think, Tohru Honda, in a couple of days, you'll be graduating and all of the zodiac will return to me! Except for Kyo, who will be put in confinement, of course!" Akito cackled again._

_Tohru started to panic. She only had a few more days left to save them. Would she ever find a way to break the curse in time?_

"_It's hopeless! If you were smart, you would've given up by now!" Akito said gleefully._

_Tohru was on the verge of tears at this point. She felt so helpless. There was nothing she could do. She would never be able to save them._

_Suddenly she felt a reassuring hand rest on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Yuki looking kindly down back at her. Then his gaze shifted to Akito his facial expression quickly turned from kindness to hatred._

"_What's this?" Akito sneered, "Are you challenging me Yuki? You know it makes me very **angry **when you do things like that."_

_Akito laid his hand against Yuki's cheek, and just like he had done to Tohru only a few summers ago, he dug his fingernails down Yuki's face, leaving three deep scratches on his cheek. Yuki didn't even flinch. This only angered Akito even more. He then decided that Tohru would be an easier victim and chose to take out his anger on her._

"_You know," Akito said to her coolly, "Kyo and I made a bet awhile back. I promised him that if he beat Yuki he'd be able to become part of the zodiac and wouldn't have to be put into confinement."_

_Tohru's eyes widened. 'So that's why he was always trying so hard to beat Yuki-kun,' she thought._

"_Of course there's no way that will ever happen. The cat can never beat the rat. It's just a matter of days before he's put in confinement, and it will be all. your. fault." Akito said, venom oozing with every word he spoke, "because you weren't able to break the curse, Kyo will be locked up for the rest of his life, and he'll spend all of his time in that dark room **hating** you. I'll make sure of that."_

_Tohru gasped, but Akito just continued speaking, "And then you'll just have to go on living your life all alone. Your days will be filled with guilt and emptiness until you **die**, all because you weren't able to save him."_

_By this point, Tohru had tears streaming down her face. The thought of Kyo hating her scared her to death. She didn't want it happen. She wouldn't be able to bear it if it did._

"_No!" she screamed, "You can't do that! Kyo can't hate me! You can't put him in confinement! I won't let you! I-I…I love him!"_

_Tohru gasped at her own words. 'I…I love him?' she thought as even more tears spilled from her eyes, 'I love him…and yet I didn't even know it…'_

_At this point Yuki finally spoke up, "It's over…"he whispered as realization hit him, "Honda-san! It's over—the curse! It's all over! I can feel the bonds releasing me…Honda-san, you did it! You broke the curse! Because you love Kyo, the cat, the one who was never supposed to be loved, and because you never once looked down on him, the curse is finally broken! Your love for Kyo broke the curse!!"_

_Tohru was wide-eyed, 'Th-the curse is…over?!' It was hard to believe._

_Yuki smiled at the shocked look on her face, "You did it Honda-san," he said as he pulled her into a friendly hug. It was true, he didn't transform._

"_NO!" Akito was furious, "No! My zodiac! The jyunishi! It's all gone!" he rounded on Tohru, "And it's ALL," he slapped her. "YOUR," he punched her. "FAULT!!!" he screamed while knocking her over._

_Yuki tried to catch her before she fell, but wasn't fast enough. The last thing Tohru remembered seeing before she hit the ground was Akito's face, (who was also falling); all the life had gone out of his dark eyes and his face still held the look of pure fury plastered on it, destined to remain on his face for eternity. Akito was dead. The curse was over._

_And then Tohru's head collided with something hard. She could hear Yuki's voice growing fainter as the world began to grow blurry. She saw a flashing of red and blue lights accompanied with many urgent voices. And then it all went black._

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Tohru woke with a start. It had been awhile since she'd dreamt of that day and, truthfully, she could've done without all the nightmares. She glanced over at her clock. Saturday, 4: 30 a.m. She sighed and fell back on her pillow. She had off today and tomorrow, but she had been considering going into work today anyways, since she honestly didn't have anything better to do. _'Well, I might as well get up for a bit right now. I'm never going to be able to get back to sleep anyways,_' she decided.

So Tohru dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. When she got our and had gotten dressed and dried her hair, Tohru decided to try some different things with her hair. Usually, Tohru only wore her hair down or pulled it back into a ponytail nowadays, but a little change never hurt anyone. _'Might as well,'_ she reasoned, _'When I was living with the Sohmas, I used to different hairstyles all the time. Plus, I've got time so, why not?'_

She amused herself for a few minutes by putting her hair into some pretty outrageous hairdos. But, while she was rummaging through her drawers looking for another hair scrunchie, she came across the ribbon that Yuki had given her for White Day a couple years back. _'I thought I'd lost this,'_ Tohru thought.

Taking her hair out of the dozens of little pony tails it was currently in, Tohru pulled part of her hair back into a pony tail so that it was now in a half-back pony tail, (A/N: everyone _does_ know what I'm talking about…right?), and used Yuki's ribbon to tie it together.

She smiled at her reflection. Somehow, doing her hair like she used to made her look younger, (not that she's by any means old, but since she's so depressed she looks older than she actually is), and it made her happier too. Then she frowned. Her hair didn't seem to quite match her outfit. Ever since she'd moved out of the Sohmas, not only had she quit doing things with her hair, she also had quit wearing skirts and dresses. Now it was only jeans and T-shirts for her.

Inspired, Tohru went into her closet and unearthed one of the dresses she'd worn at the Sohma's a lot. She tried it on. It still fit perfectly. (A/N: she'd pretty much stopped growing by the time she moved into the Sohmas' house, so naturally it'd still fit).

Tohru looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked exactly the same way she had when she was still living with the Sohmas. The thought made her happy. Pleased with herself, Tohru went back into the kitchen. It was now 6: 30 a.m. She fixed herself a **_homemade_** breakfast and then she decided she didn't feel like going to work today after all. Today she would relax. Once she'd finished her breakfast it was already 7: 07. Hardly anything was open this early in the morning, so Tohru decided to go on-line for a little before heading out.

She was casually listening to her I-tunes and looking up random things on the internet when an ad popped up on the screen. She was just about to close it when something caught her eye. The ad read, "Reconnect with your classmates! Just click here!" Curious, Tohru clicked it. Up popped a survey. Tohru filled it out and when she was done, it informed her that she'd successfully registered and told her how many of her former classmates had registrations and how many were online at the time. Tohru quickly scanned through the "on-line" list, searching for Kyo or Yuki's name, but was disappointed to see that neither of their names were there. _'They might not even have an account…'_ Tohru realized.

She was just about to sign out when another page popped up informing her that another one of her classmates had requested to chat with her. '_What can it hurt?'_ Tohru thought as she clicked on the "accept" button.

_**-The Conversation-**_

?: Honda-san…?

T: Yes, who's this?

?: It's me, Yuki.

T: YUKI-KUN?!?!

Y: yes

T: Is that really you?!(At this point Tohru was hyper-venillating)

Y: I think so. I'm pretty sure I was Yuki last time I checked.

T: OMG! I can't believe it's actually you!

Y: I'm pretty surprised it's you too, Honda-san.

T: Please call me Tohru.

Y: Huh?

T: I said, call me Tohru. We're friends Yuki-kun, not strangers.

Y: All right…Tohru-kun.

T: See? Was that really so hard?

Y: No…I guess not.

T: ) Good!

…

T: So…what's new with you Yuki-kun?

Y: Not much. I'm working part-time as a waiter and going to college right now. What about you Tohru-kun?

T: No, I'm still working full-time at a coffee shop.

Y: Are you doing well?

T: Yes! Please don't worry about me!

Y: Okay then…Tohru? Can I ask you a question?

T: Of course Yuki-kun! What is it?

Y: Umm…have you…heard from Kyo recently?

T: Uh…no, actually. But Yuki-kun, why do you ask?

Y: Oh, no reason…just curious I guess…

T: oh…

Y: Oh, Tohru, I have to go now, class starts in about 20 minutes. But I'll talk to you again sometime. Okay?

T: Yes! See you later! Do your best Yuki-kun!

-Tohru has signed off-

-Yuki has signed off-

-Yuki-

"_Do your best Yuki-kun!"_

"Yeah," he said, "I will…I will."

'_If only I could hear her say that again,'_ he thought sadly.

-Tohru-

Tohru turned off the computer and sighed. 'I can't believe I actually talked to Yuki-kun! I hope we'll be able to talk like that again sometime,' she thought.

"Well, I guess I better get up and do something."

Standing up, she grabbed her purse and a light jacket and was just about to head out the door when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Heading back into the bathroom, she put on some mascara and some light pink lip gloss.

"It's not like I'm trying to impress anybody," she said to herself, "but you never know who you'll run into!"

And on that note, Tohru headed out the door.

**All right! So…that ends Chapter 4! I think this is my longest chapter yet!! Anyways, I hope you liked it, the characters might have been out-of-character in some parts and some of it might have been cheesy too, (sorry), but all in all I was satisfied. I'm glad so many ppl like my story so far. Plz R&R!**


	5. A Fateful Encounter

**All right first off, I would just like to say I'm sorry that it took so long for me to update. And I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be update as often as before for awhile b/c I'm super busy w/school and what not. But I'm going to update as often as I can so please don't lose faith in this story! I've got a lot coming up ahead!**

**Thanks to my reviewers for reviewing my precious story.**

**(Wearyourl o v elikeHeaven, tohrukun92126, JennyKim319, AKITO. At The Disco, moonflower, JLrocks23, and Pure Shikon)**

**tohrukun92126: I'm really glad you still like my story even though it's Kyoru instead of Yukiru. And I'm glad the last chapter wasn't cheesy and the characters weren't OOC.**

**JLrocks23: glad you liked it and I'm really glad you thought it was cute!**

**Pure Shikon: I'm so happy you like my story! I'm amazed that ppl actually like it this much!**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own fruits basket. But I wish I did.

**Chapter 5: A Fateful Encounter**

Saturday, September 5

-Kyo-

Kyo had closed the dojo for the day. No particular reason, really. He just felt like he needed a day off so he could gather his thoughts.

The flashback he had yesterday had unnerved him. It made him depressed. He knew he shouldn't even have thought about it in the first place, but he just couldn't help it. Memories like that were nearly impossible to contain.

As an attempt to settle his thoughts, Kyo was currently taking a walk through the park. Seeing a bench nearby, Kyo sat down and idly observed his surroundings. The park was quite empty today, which was surprising, especially for a Saturday. The only people he came in contact with were a jogger and her dog, a teenage couple who were quite clearly on a date, and an old woman with her young grandson. The trees were just starting to change colors, and the sky was a brilliant shade of blue and there wasn't a cloud to be spoken of. The lake in the center of the park was a deeper shade of blue, but it also seemed to shimmer even more than usual today. The weather was cool; not too hot, not too cold, and every now and then, a crisp wind would breeze through, ruffling Kyo's orange hair. It was a bright, beautiful day. Completely opposite of Kyo's mood.

Kyo stood up from the bench and started walking again. Most of the flowers weren't blooming at this time of the year so Kyo was mildly surprised when he saw a single beautiful, violet flower sprouting from the ground. But the flower only reminded him of **_her_**, and he reverted back to his younger, and more immature days.

_-flashback-_

"_Wait Kyo," Shishou said, stopping Kyo in his tracks, "it would be a shame if you stepped on it," he said, referring to the flower in front of them._

"_What's the point?" Kyo replied, "Why bother protecting such a small flower? Shishou, do you know what they say about me? 'An exsistence made up of others' sacrifices and others' lives.' All's I ever do is cause problems for the people around me. I have nothing left._

_-end flashback-_

And just like Kyo had back then, he smashed the flower with his foot. _'Just like I've trampled over everything and everyone else in my life,'_ he thought.

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Kyo was looking down and he was lost in his thoughts, so he was way too preoccupied to notice a figure coming straight at him from the opposite direction, also preoccupied with their thoughts. It wasn't until Kyo had collided head-first with the person that he noticed they were there. 'Today just isn't my day,' Kyo thought.

"Ah! I'm so sorr— the stranger started to say.

"Kyo-kun??"

Kyo would have recognized that voice anywhere. When he looked up at the speaker, his guess was confirmed.

"Tohru?!" he said while standing up and brushing himself off.

"Kyo-kun! I can't believe it's you!" Tohru threw her arms around him and drew him into a big hug. Kyo just stood there in a state of shock for a moment before returning the hug warmly. When Tohru finally realized what she was doing, she quickly let go of him and blushed. Kyo blushed too.

"Oh…um, I'm sorry about that Kyo-kun. It's just that—well, I haven't seen you in so long, so I just—uh—without thinking, that is, um…" Tohru stammered.

"Don't worry about it," he said, "I don't mind. Really." (A/N: **Of course** he doesn't mind! X D)

"So Kyo-kun, what's new with you?" Tohru asked while falling into step with him and heading back the way she'd just came.

"Nothing too exciting really," he said nonchalantly, "I inherited Shishou's dojo that I'm the master of, so Shishou got to retire pretty early. I also own an apartment just a few blocks away from the dojo that I live in by myself. So what's been going on with you?"

"Work," she said with a small laugh, "as usual."

"Where do you work at?"

"I work full time at a coffee shop."

"Do you like it there?" Kyo asked her seriously.

"It's fine," she said, "I mean, I have so much to be grateful for. I'm lucky to have such a great job."

"Are you living by yourself?" he asked.

"Yes, in a small apartment on 12th street," she replied.

An awkward moment of silence passed between them.

"So…" said Kyo, who couldn't stand the silence, "You wanna get some coffee or tea or something with me?"

"I'd love to!" Tohru replied enthusiastically.

Kyo smiled to himself. _'Same old Tohru,'_ he thought.

At the small café, Tohru ordered decaf coffee, (A/N: she's too hyper w/o any extra caffeine), with extra cream and sugar in it while Kyo just ordered a glass of lemonade, since he doesn't care too much for coffee drinks.

While they were idly sipping their drinks, Kyo was watching Tohru out of the corner of his eye. _'She doesn't seem as happy as she used to be,'_ he thought, _'She seems kind of…sad, actually. And maybe even a little bit…lonely.'_

Once, Tohru caught him staring at her and he quickly glanced away, flushing slightly. Tohru, however, chose not to comment on this.

When they'd finished up their drinks, Kyo offered to walk Tohru home. Tohru accepted. They were mostly silent on the way home, except for one of them occasionally pointing out random things, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was more of an 'at peace' sort of silence.

"This is my apartment building," Tohru said when they reached it. "Thank you for walking me home Kyo-kun," Tohru said while bowing to him to express her gratitude. This made Kyo feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Don't mention it," Kyo said gruffly. And after a moment's pause he said, "Hey Tohru, I was thinking…we should do this again sometime. You know, spend time together again."

"Yes! I would like that very much too, Kyo-kun!" Tohru replied, her face brightening considerably.

"Yeah, well, I guess I'd better go now," Kyo said, turning around to leave.

"Ah, yes! Of course! Thank you again Kyo-kun!" Tohru said. Then she began to walk towards the entrance of her apartment building.

"Tohru!" Kyo called just as she was about to go inside.

Tohru stopped and turned around, "Yes?"

"I…I just noticed…that you seemed somewhat…_down_ today. Is everything okay?" he finally managed to say.

Tohru face-faulted before she caught herself and quickly plastered a big, fake smile on her face.

"Yep! Everything's just fine Kyo-kun! But thank you for worrying about me."

"Yeah…" he said, still not convinced, "well…bye then."

"Get home safe!" she called back.

Kyo smiled.

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As Kyo made his way back home, he took a short-cut through the park. When he came across the flower he'd trampled on earlier, he paused before kneeling down and carefully digging it out of the ground, roots and all. Then he gently carried it home where he potted it in a spare vase. He then decided to try to revive it while swearing to himself that he would never trample over anything or anyone ever again.

**Dun Dun Dun! It's the moment we've all been waiting for: Kyo and Tohru finally met! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the others. I've got a lot in store for Kyo and Tohru up ahead! What will happen between the two reunited friends? Will there friendship continue to grow, or will they lose contact again? No one knows(well, except me of course). So, what will happen next? readers wait with baited breath Well you're gonna just have to wait for the next chapter to find out! audience throws overly-ripe tomatoes among other rotting vegetables at Amaya-Mizuki Er, in the meantime, please review!Amaya-Mizuki ducks as a chair is thrown at her head What?! I said 'please'!**


	6. A Call from a Friend

**A/N: I know the title of this chapter is incredibly stupid, but I honestly had no idea what to call it so it ended up with that name. Sorry.**

**A/N#2: I'm incredibly sorry it took me so long to update. I've been busy and blah and all that other crap, but you don't wanna hear about that do you? Anyways, I apologize, but this is pretty much a boring chapter. The good news is that I'm posting two chapters to make up for how long it's taken me to update and the sucky chapter.**

**A/N#3: As you may or may not have noticed, I no longer allow anonymous reviews. This is b/c I do not feel like dealing with a certain person's shit anymore. I apologize to all those anonymous reviewers out there, but I had to do it.**

**A/N#4: Please, PLEASE review! On the last chapter I think I only got two reviews, so please let me know that you're still reading my story! And of course thank you to all the people that do read and review this story! A basket of fruits for you all! (it's the closest thing to Fruits Basket that I actually DO own --')**

**Okay, I'll shut up now!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fruits Basket, because if I did, I would be married to Kyo and to Haru and Akito would be stuck in my Biology class for the rest of her life (it's the worst possible torture I can come up with).

**Chapter 6: A Call from a Friend**

Saturday, September 5

-Tohru-

Tohru watched Kyo as he made his way from her apartment until she couldn't see him any longer. For some reason, she felt somewhat flushed and jittery. _'Maybe they mixed up my order and accidentally gave me caffeinated coffee instead of decaf,' _she thought.

Feeling inspired, Tohru decided to go through her closet and see what objects she could find that would serve as reminders of the past.

Underneath all her old skirts, dresses, and school uniforms, the first items she came across were photographs.

There were a wide variety of pictures, ranging from when her mom first started dating her dad all the way to Tohru's graduation day. Tohru set a few of the really special ones to the side: her mom and dad's wedding; a family photo with her as a baby, Katsuya, Kyoko, and her grandfather; a picture with her as a little girl and her mom, breaking watermelons, both of them smiling and laughing; Tohru in middle school with Arisa and Saki; a photo with her, Kyo, Yuki, Momiji, Harsuharu, Hiro, and Kisa all together at the summer house (Hiro only agreed to get his picture taken b/c he got to hold Kisa's hand); and finally a picture of her, Kyo, Yuki, and Machi standing together at graduation.(A/N: I dunno if I mentioned this yet or not, but Machi's the same age as them in my fic. It's much easier that way.)

She glanced over this last picture a little bit longer than the others, her eyes settling on Kyo. She carefully traced the outline of his profile with her finger, her eyes gazing at him tenderly.

**_"Hey Tohru, I was thinking…we should do this again sometime. You know, spend time together again."_**

"Oh, please let this be true!" Tohru said to herself, "Please let me see him again soon!"

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_**-Later on that night-**_

Tohru had just finished eating dinner when the phone rang. Setting down the dish that she was in the process of drying, Tohru answered the phone.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hey, Tohru? It's me, Arisa."

"Uo-chan!" Tohru squealed.

Arisa laughed, "It's good to hear from you too, Tohru-chan."

"Yes!" Tohru said, "So why are you calling me today Uo-chan?"

"Nn? No reason really. Just felt like talking to you again and see what you've been up to? So, anything new?"

"Um, well not really," then Tohru remembered, "But today I talked to Yuki-kun over the computer and I ran into Kyo-kun this afternoon while I was taking a walk in the park."

"Really? That's sudden. I'm surprised; I haven't heard anything about them since graduation."

"Mm-hm," Tohru agreed, "Me either. I was so happy when I got to talk to them today."

"So did Yuki propose to Machi yet?" Arisa asked casually.

"No, I don't think so," Tohru replied, "he didn't really say."

"Hmm. Well, he should hurry up with it. We all know it's gonna end up happening anyways."

"What about you, Uo-chan? How's your relationship with Kureno going?" Tohru asked cheerfully.

"Great!!" Arisa replied enthusiastically, "the more time I spend with him, the more I fall in love with him."

"I'm so happy for you, Uo-chan!" Tohru said, equally enthusiastic, "You're so lucky to have found your true love already!"

"What about you Tohru?" Arisa asked, "Do you have a boyfriend yet?"

"Nope!" Tohru said, a little too cheerfully, "I'm still single and waiting!"

"Don't worry," Arisa said, "I'm sure the right guy will come along for you soon."

"Maybe," Tohru replied, "but I don't mind waiting for him because I don't think love is something that should be rushed."

"Hmm. You're probably right about that Tohru, but I still don't want you to feel lonely for your whole life. I'm worried about you, Tohru, living in that apartment all alone, working, supporting yourself. I just…don't want you to be lonely."

Tohru had to fight to hold back tears, "Please…please don't worry about me, Uo-chan! I'm doing very well on my own. And I'm not lonely at all! I have very many things to be grateful for!"

"Just don't work too hard, okay? I don't want you getting over-worked or depressed," Arisa said.

"Don't worry Uo-chan, I won't!"

"Good. Now, I gotta go now, but I'll talk to you later, k?"

"Okay! Bye Uo-chan!"

**So? What did you think? Stupid, wasn't it? I know, I know. It'll get better though, I promise. I've got a lot more coming, so please don't give up on this story! I'll try to update as often as I can, but once summer comes, I'll try to update way more frequently. (Also, if anyone here watches Avatar: The Last Airbender and is a Zutara fan, try reading my other story: A Journey to the Past. I've only posted one chapter so far, but I'm working on typing the next chapter right now. It doesn't look like much from just the prologue, but it's definitely gonna be different from all those other Zutara stories that all seem to follow the same path. I have a good feeling about this story!)Anyways, thanks for reading, and please review!**


	7. Two Different Proposals

**A/N: Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket. I also don't own a million dollars. Or a car. Or a house. Or lots of other things…

**Chapter 7: Two Different Proposals**

Thursday (night), September 10

-Yuki-

Yuki glanced nervously down at the ring he was holding inside his pocket.

'_Today's the day,'_ he thought,_ 'today's the day I ask Machi to marry me.'_

"Yuki, are you okay? You don't look so good," Machi said, concerned, "Maybe we should go home."

"No! I mean…no, no. I'm fine. Really." He smiled at her. Machi didn't look too convinced.

"I don't know Yuki, I'm really worried about you; you don't look so well."

"No, I'm fine! Really, I am!" Yuki insisted.

"Well…if you say so," she said, "but if you start feeling too sick just tell me and we can go home."

"Yuki nodded.

It was Thursday night and Yuki had taken Machi on a date and they had gone out to her favorite restaurant. He'd bought the ring a few days ago and had been planning this day out for a while now. He'd worked long and hard to make this day special, he wasn't about to chicken out now.

After they'd finished their dinner and were waiting for desert, Yuki finally spoke up.

"Machi…" he began. She looked up at him.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Machi…"he got out of his seat and kneeled in front of her, "will you marry me?"

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-Tohru-

Tohru had just gotten in from work when the phone rang. Hastily taking off her work apron and uniform, she quickly changed into her robe. Tohru made it in time to answer the phone just before the machine picked up.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver.

"Hey. It's me, Kyo."

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru was slightly taken aback, "How nice to hear from you…and so soon!"

"Yeah…"

"So how have you been, Kyo-kun?"

"Pretty good, I guess…you?"

"Fine! I've been doing just fine!" she lied. (She'd spent most of the week worrying that she would never hear from Kyo again)

"That's good," he said.

"But, ah, you must've had a reason for calling Kyo-kun—eh?!" Tohru finally realized something, "Kyo-kun! How in the world did you get my number!?"

"I used the phone book," he said. _'She really can be pretty clueless sometimes,'_ he thought.

"Oh, yes, of course! Ha, ha! Silly me!" Tohru said.

"But as for the reason why I called…"

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering if on Saturday…if you wanted to go out—I mean, go somewhere with me again," he finally managed out. Luckily, (for him anyways), Tohru couldn't see the bright crimson blush that was painting his cheeks at the moment.

"Yes! Of course I would!" Tohru responded, flushing as well, "Umm…where…?"

"I can come get you at your house," Kyo said quickly, "and then we can just decide where to go from there…If that's okay with you…"

"Yes! That's fine!" Tohru said.

"So, what time should I be over there?"

"Ah! Umm…four-thirty would be good…"

"Okay and what's your apartment number?"

"Oh! It's 213," she said.

"All right. Well, I guess I'll see you then."

"Yes! Keep safe Kyo-kun!"

"Bye, Tohru."

"Good-bye!"

_-click-_

Tohru hung up the phone, her mood considerably lighter. _'This is all happening so fast,'_ she thought, _'for such a long time, I haven't seen or spoken to any of the Sohmas and now all of a sudden I'm seeing Kyo and Yuki all the time.'_

Tohru sighed happily. _'It almost seems like we never stopped talking to each other.'_

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-Yuki-

"YES!" said Machi, tears of joy running down her face, "Yes, of course I'll marry you!"

Yuki slid the ring onto her finger. Machi gasped.

"Yuki!! It's so beautiful!"

"I'm glad you like it," he said.

"Like it?! I _love_ it!" Machi exclaimed pulling him into a tight hug, "just like I love you," she whispered.

Yuki kissed her. A long, passionate kiss, right there in the middle of the restaurant. Needless to say, they caught a lot of attention.

After they were done, they sat back down and finished the rest of their meal discussing the wedding plans.

**Hope this chapter was better then the last, I thought it was, at least. I'm sorry Machi's so out of character, but she's such a hard character to capture properly(especially since I haven't seen her very much in the series yetonly on Vol. 15 in the U.S.) so I baisically made her to fit what I needed her to accomplish(terrible, isn't it?). Anyways, please review, but don't flame!**


	8. The Date Part I

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fruits Basket. But on April 10 I WILL own the 16th volume of Fruits Basket. Make no mistake about THAT!

**A/N: I felt bad about the long waits in b/w updates, so I wanted to update today. However, I am not a fast typer and this chapter was longer than usual so I was forced to split it into two parts. Sorry about that, but hey, I updated for you at least, right?**

**Thanks to all my reviewers and all the people who put me under their favorites.**

**the REAL Kyo Sohma: thank you for that very…er—interesting review. but please do not cut me with a chainsaw as that would mean that I would no longer be able to continue writing this story. (hee hee) glad you're enjoying the story **

**AKITO. At The Disco: can't wait to learn about Machi…if only it were April 10 already! grr!! I wish I could read Japanese…**

**JLrocks23: I'm glad you like this story so much. It brings joy to my heart!**

**Pure Shikon: thanks for the review!**

**Chapter 8: The "Date" (part I)**

-Kyo-

Saturday, September 12

Friday had gone especially slow for Kyo. He'd gotten so anxious thinking about seeing Tohru the next day that the day had seemed to drag on forever. He'd also been very distracted too. More than once his martial arts students had to hit Kyo over the head to make him snap out of his daze and to keep him from running into a wall. Running into a wall wasn't the worst of it though, while Kyo was preparing the tea during break, one of his students had to steal the knife from him in order to prevent him from cutting off his hand.(A/N: Why the hell did he have a knife out in the first place?!)

It had eventually gotten so bad that his students had to call the lessons to a stop and had to force him to tell them what was on his mind. When Kyo had sheepishly told them the truth, his students had taken it upon themselves to call a taxi and take him home. Once there, they then proceeded to pick out his clothes for the next day, guessing that he might not be able to do it for himself.

After all that they ordered takeout for him, stealing some of Kyo's money to pay for it, and then they forced Kyo to sit down and watch T.V. Once Kyo was all settled, they went home, knowing there was no point in continuing the lesson with Kyo so out of it.

That night Kyo had a hard time getting to sleep. He slept fitfully and woke several times during the night. His dreams were strange and often left him jolting straight up in bed, wide-eyed and heart racing. Needless to say, Kyo was very relieved when Saturday morning finally rolled around.

Kyo scrambled out of bed and immediately jumped in the shower. Miraculously, he showered with few problems and was able to keep himself from drowning. Then, he got changed into the clothes his students had chosen for him. Although it was a very good thing that they had chosen his clothes for him, they probably should have left him directions on how to put them on as well. More than once Kyo somehow ended up putting his socks on his ears and his boxers on his head. (A/N: o0 )

Once the difficult task of dressing was over with, Kyo brushed his teeth. Unfortunately, he hadn't brushed his teeth yet and ended up having to brush his teeth twice. By the time Kyo was finished getting ready, it was already lunch time so he had left-over takeout for lunch. Afterwards, having nothing better to do, Kyo brushed his teeth for a THIRD time, reasoning that he did not want to have bad breath when he picked up Tohru.

For the next few hours, Kyo couldn't focus much on anything. He tried watching T.V., cleaning, practicing martial arts, and even reading, but nothing kept his attention for long. Some of the time he even passed by just sitting in a chair, staring at the clock, watching as the seconds hand slowly ticked by.

When it was 4:15, he got up and left, deciding to walk to Tohru's. He might be a few minutes early, but he figured it wouldn't matter.

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-Tohru-

Tohru wasn't in much better shape. Most of her time at work on Friday, she also spent in a daze (like Kyo). In the end, she managed to break two mugs, three plates, and also managed to successfully run into the same wall ten times (six more times than usual) before her boss finally sent her home early. Tohru spent the rest of her day cleaning her apartment obsessively and going through some of her old stuff, reliving memories from the time she spent in the Sohma's house once again. Tohru slept lightly that night, but not quite as fitfully as Kyo did.

On Saturday, Tohru woke up a little bit earlier than what was normal for her. She lied in bed for a while, but when it became clear to her that she wasn't going to fall back asleep, she got out of bed and made herself a nice cup of hot tea. Then, she took a long warm bath as an attempt to release some of the stress she had built up. After that, she changed into her bathrobe and made herself brunch. When she had finished washing and drying the dishes, Tohru went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, but only once, unlike Kyo. She did her hair the same way she had last Saturday before moving on to the most difficult task: deciding what to wear. It must have taken her _at least_ two hours to decide on an outfit.

'_Why was that so hard?'_ Tohru wondered, _'And why am I so anxious? It's not like it's a romantic date.'_

She finally decided on a pink and white, short-sleeved, flowy dress that fanned out around her when she span around, without revealing anything, of course. To go with it, she had also chosen a pair of flat, white strappy sandals and a pair of white crystals earrings, but decided against a jacket since it was fairly warm today.

After changing into her outfit, Tohru applied a small amount of make-up. She put on a tiny bit of mascara, some white eye-shadow, pink lip-gloss, and just a tiny hint of blush. She didn't want to go over the top, and simple make-up suited her best anyways.

At 4:25, her apartment buzzer rang, which she anxiously answered, "May I ask who this is please?" she said, even though she had a pretty good feeling who it was.

"It's Kyo," he replied back through the speaker.

"Ah, yes of course! Here," she said as she pressed the button to unlock the front doors of the apartment building, "Please come in!"

"I'll be up in a sec," Kyo said.

Tohru unlocked her apartment door and stood by it, anxiously waiting for Kyo to come, which surprisingly didn't take that long. In just a matter of moments, Kyo was knocking at her door.

"Welcome, Kyo-kun!" Tohru said as she opened the door.

Kyo smiled at her before he went in. He was dressed up a little nicer than normal too, Tohru noticed, it wasn't formal, but it was still a little bit dressier.

Kyo and Tohru just stood at her doorway awkwardly for a moment without saying anything. Finally, Tohru spoke up.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Kyo-kun, I completely forgot my manners! Please, let me give you a tour of the apartment," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him into each of the rooms. Kyo was slightly taken aback by Tohru's sudden action and he flushed slightly, but Tohru was too busy giving the tour to notice.

When she showed him her bedroom, Kyo noticed she had put up a bunch of pictures on her shelf, many of which that had been taken at the Sohmas' house. He let go of Tohru's hand and walked over to take a closer look. He slowly took in each picture as he moved his eyes from left to right.

On the far left was a picture of her, her mom, dad, and grandpa; next was a photo of her mom and dad's wedding. Beside these there was a picture of Shigure, Yuki, Tohru, and himself at Shigure's house as well as a picture of Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori at Hatori and Mayuko-sensei's wedding. Then there was a picture of all the previous zodiac members, including himself and Tohru, together. The last one was a photograph of Yuki, Machi, Tohru, and himself on graduation day. When he finished looking at this last one he turned around.

"There are more on the nightstand," Tohru said quietly, pointing to them.

Curious, Kyo immediately went over to her nightstand and gazed at the pictures. There was a picture of Tohru, Hanajima, and Uotani together in middle school; a picture of Yuki and Machi together at a school dance; a picture of Tohru and her mother breaking watermelons together; the photo of Tohru's mom that she used to always carry with her everywhere; a picture taken at the Sohma's summer house when they had gone to the beach; and lastly a picture of Tohru and Kyo sitting on the roof together that Tohru had taken a few days before graduation, when she had gone on a 'taking pictures spree.' Kyo couldn't help but take notice that this last particular picture was sitting the closest to Tohru's bedside. This thought comforted him somehow.

As they were about to leave her room, something else caught Kyo's attention. The collection of Chinese Zodiac animals that Tohru had gotten as a souvenir on their class trip was sitting on her dresser. And there, among them, sat the orange cat, which Tohru had to hand make since it was not included in the set. The cat was always left out of everything, always looked down on. But Tohru never forgot about him, never looked down on him, not once. She truly seemed to care about him.

"Kyo-kun? Are you okay?" Tohru asked him, genuinely concerned.

"Oh, uh…yeah. I'm fine. I just zoned out there for a moment…" Kyo said.

"Well, that's really all there is to my apartment so do you think we should get going now?"

Kyo nodded his head in agreement, and without another word, they left.

**Not much excitement, I know, but the next chapter (the second half of their date) should be more interesting. Plus it's filled with fluff! Anyways, I'll get that ASAP, but don't necessarily look for it anytime soon. IF I'm lucky I'll be able to finish typing it up before the end of Spring Break. That's only and IF though!**


	9. The Date Part II

**Disclaimer: Guess what? I just bought Fruits Basket and now I own it and I'm gonna be rich and famous and I get to do whatever I want to all the characters now, which means that Kyo is officially my husband. APRIL FOOL'S!!(it's late, but whatever, just go with it) Yeah, like _I_ could ever own something as precious and beautiful as that which is Fruits Basket.**

**A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers for reviewing, but as a heads up, I now require at least 4 reviews per chapter for me to update (from different people of course). That's not saying that I'm going to update as soon as I have 4 reviews, but I will try to get the chapters up as fast as I possibly can. I have started accepting anonymous reviews again so hopefully this shouldn't be much of a problem. Bunches of thanks to my reviewers once again!**

**Coletterby: I'm glad you think this story rox and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Pure Shikon: Glad you like the story and I hope you enjoy the second part of the "date."**

**AKITO. At The Disco is lazy: Hee hee that's funny, anyways glad you like this story and I hope you enjoy the rest of Kyo and Tohru's "date." And yes, you're right Kyoru is cute!**

**Chapter Nine: The "Date" (part II)**

Saturday, September 12

-Kyo & Tohru-

"Where to, Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked once outside the apartment.

"I don't really know…" Kyo muttered, "Any place specific you wanna go?"

"Um…well," said Tohru, looking down, "If it isn't too much trouble…I'd like to see Shishou's—well actually _your_ dojo, Kyo-kun!" Tohru said looking up at him hopefully.

"Really?" Kyo asked, surprised.

"Yes!"

"Well, if you really want to I guess we can go…"

"Yay!" Tohru exclaimed.

Kyo smiled slightly at Tohru's enthusiasm. Tohru noticed this and only smiled bigger.

"Hey…if you want," Kyo said hesitantly, "we can stop and see my apartment, it's on the way to the dojo."

Tohru gasped in delight, "I would love to see that Kyo-kun!"

And so they made a quick detour to Kyo's house.

There was nothing particularly exciting at Kyo's apartment, but Tohru seemed to enjoy it a lot, none-the-less. They were almost ready to leave when a single beautiful flower sitting on the window ledge in the living room caught Tohru's eye. It was really the only decoration in Kyo's house so it stood out like a sore-thumb. (a pretty sore thumb!)

"Kyo-kun," Tohru said, walking over to the flower, "What's this?"

"Oh that," Kyo looked embarrassed by Tohru's question but he fruitlessly tried to remain nonchalant about the whole ordeal, "it's a flower I trampled over just a little while ago."

Kyo walked to where Tohru was standing. Tohru gently caressed the flower's soft pinkish-purple petals and its crisp leaves between her fingers. Kyo suddenly grasped her hand in his and looked intently into Tohru's crystal blue eyes. Startled, Tohru gasped and turned her face upward to look at him, but did not pull her hand away.

"I guess you could say it has a bit of a symbolic meaning for me, so I decided to take care of it," Kyo said gently.

"What symbolic meaning does it hold for you Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked him softly, gazing curiously back into Kyo's intense amber eyes.

Kyo simply smiled and shook his head knowingly. When he saw Tohru's bewildered expression, he said, "I'll tell you someday, but not right now. Right now just isn't the right time."

Tohru didn't completely get it, but she didn't question him any further, since she didn't want to be nosy. They stood there in silence for a few minutes before Kyo finally said, "C'mon, you still need to see the dojo," and pulled her out of his apartment by the hand.

It wasn't until they were outside of the apartment that he let go of her hand. Tohru was a little disappointed when he did, because when he held her hand it made her feel…safe.

They continued on their way to the dojo. Once there, Kyo tried to teach Tohru a few of the simpler moves. She wasn't very good, but, hey, at least they got a laugh out of it. Once they had finished up at the dojo, they were both extremely hungry, what with all the anxiety, walking, and martial arts, how could they NOT be hungry?

"Where would you like to eat Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked.

"I don't care," he said, "You pick."

"Are you sure," Tohru asked nervously.

"Yeah, as long as you pick a place that has something on the menu that doesn't have leeks in it, I don't care where we go," Kyo replied.

Tohru giggled, "Okay."

So Tohru picked one of her favorite childhood restaurants that she used to go to with her mom. It also did not have a single dish with leeks in it, so Kyo was happy.

Dinner was very enjoyable and the two of them talked about almost everything. From the nice weather, to Tohru's job, to Kyo's dojo, and of course they spent the majority of the time talking about the times when they still lived in Shigure's house.

Once they were finished, they ended up taking a walk through the park. The sky was clear so the stars seemed especially bright that night. The crescent moon only added to the night's beauty.

"Kyo-kun…it's so beautiful!" Tohru breathed.

Kyo, however, didn't respond. Looking up at the night sky, Kyo remembered the many times he and Tohru had sat on the roof talking together. Just another thing to add to his growing list of all the things he missed.

Tohru was thinking along the same lines, until suddenly, she got an idea.

"Kyo-kun! Come with me!" she said, grabbing his arm and practically dragging him behind her.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Where are we going?!" Kyo protested. _'Man, she's almost as bad as Kagura,'_ he thought.

Tohru stopped for a moment and turned around to face him, a cute little smile playing at her lips, "It's a surprise," she whispered, before pulling Kyo along again.

Tohru didn't stop pulling him until they had reached her apartment building. Tohru turned around to look at Kyo.

"Close your eyes," she said, "I'll guide you." She took a hold of his arm again and started pulling him forward, although not as fast this time.

"Hey, just make sure you don't make me run into anyth—" Kyo began before Tohru accidentally hit with the front doors of the apartment building. _'Too late,' _he thought, clutching his face in pain.

"Ah! Kyo-kun! I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean to! Oh, I'm so stupid! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorr—"Tohru said, in hysterics.

"It's okay Tohru. Really," he said, but Tohru didn't hear him since she was too busy screaming apologies, "but you know, you really sound a lot like Ritsu when you do that."

This finally got Tohru to stop and to let out a small laugh.

"Are you sure you're okay, Kyo-kun?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, don't worry, nothing's broken or bleeding, so I'll be fine."

Tohru looked relieved.

"But how about you get me to a safer place before you make me close my eyes again," Kyo said, smiling slightly.

"Yes! I'll be more careful this time! I promise!" Tohru said.

Tohru led Kyo to the elevator. Once on the elevator, she made him close his eyes again. They rode the elevator all the way up to the very top floor where there was no apartments, and Tohru carefully guided him off the elevator. Then she slowly led him up a small set of stairs which Kyo miraculously managed to get up without tripping or falling once. At the top of the stairs, Tohru opened the door and led Kyo outside onto the roof.

The roof was flat and spacey and was very different from Shigure's roof, but it was still a roof, and besides that, it had a spectacular view of the city and the stars and moon.

Tohru led Kyo to the middle of the roof, "Open your eyes," she said.

Kyo did and when he did he was surprised at his surroundings. It was truly very beautiful up there, and better yet, it reminded Kyo of sitting on Shigure's roof with Tohru like they had so many times before.

"Do you like it?" Tohru asked nervously.

Kyo shook his head, "No…" Tohru's face fell and Kyo moved closer to her, "…I _love_ it," he whispered.

Tohru brightened and looked up at Kyo. He was standing very close to her now. He moved his face closer to hers so that now they were merely centimeters apart. Tohru started to slowly lower her eyelids and she felt her heart beat faster than normal. She could feel Kyo's soft, warm breath against her face and she could feel her own breathing get faster and shallower.

She'd never _really_ kissed a boy before, because she'd never had a boyfriend before so it was no wonder she was so anxious. Kyo, was just as, if not more anxious. Since he'd loved her for several years by now, he'd never kissed a girl before. He just had never been interested in any girls besides Tohru.

Tohru began to stand on her tip toes as she leaned slightly against Kyo, shortening the already short distance between their faces. They were very, VERY close now. So extremely close, in fact, that Tohru could practically taste the minty-freshness in Kyo's breath (A/N: it's minty-fresh b/c he brushed his teeth so many times). Closing her eyes completely, Tohru was just about to erase the remaining space between their lips…

…When Kyo's cell phone _had_ to go off and completely ruin the moment.

Kyo swore under his breath while Tohru quickly came down from her tip toes and took a step backwards to give him some space. Kyo looked at the caller I.D. and flipped the phone open.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT, SHISHOU?!?!" Kyo screamed into the phone.

"I was just calling to see how your date went with Tohru. Are you still with her? Did I call at a bad time?" Shishou asked on the other end of the line.

"HELL YEAH!" Kyo shouted, "TOHRU AND I WERE JUST ABOUT TO—

Kyo stopped short, barely catching himself in time. Tohru flushed slightly and looked away, pretending she hadn't heard what Kyo had been about to say.

"You and Tohru were just about to do _what_, Kyo? Didn't I ever preach to you about not having sex before marriage?" Shishou asked him casually.

Kyo turned a bright shade of red and suddenly became very thankful that Tohru could not hear the second half of the conversation that was currently going on the other line.

"Shut-up, Shishou," he said, not really meaning it, "Just never mind. I'll call you back later." And without waiting for an answer, he hung up the phone.

"Stupid Shishou," Kyo said, embarrassed. Tohru turned back around and looked at him.

"In addition to bad cooking skills, Shishou always did seem to have a knack for bad timing." Kyo shook his head disgustedly.

Tohru smiled a small smile and said she didn't really mind. An awkward silence fell over the two for the next several minutes while they just stood there, neither of them sure of what to say or do next.

"Well…I guess you should probably go back inside now," Kyo said, "It's getting pretty late."

Kyo walked with Tohru to the entrance of her apartment door. Tohru unlocked the door, but didn't go inside. For a while, they both just stood there, neither of them wanting to leave, but neither knowing what to say.

Finally Kyo cleared his throat, "Uh, well…um…I guess I'll see you later then?" he asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Yes, of course! Good night, Kyo-kun!" Tohru replied in her normal cheerful manner.

"Good night," he said and with that Tohru disappeared into her apartment, shutting the door behind her.

Kyo just stood in the hallway to her apartment building, dumbstruck, still feeling like he should have said or done something more. Just as he turned to leave, Tohru's door opened again and before he could ask her what was going on, she caught him in a warm, affectionate hug. Kyo returned the hug, holding her in his arms and nestling his face into her hair, desperately wishing that he could stay like this forever and never let her go.

Sadly, however, all good things must come to an end eventually. So after several long, warm moments, the two finally broke a part.

Tohru stepped into her apartment smiling, but before she closed the door she said, "I had a really great time tonight, Kyo-kun. We should do this again sometime soon," Tohru paused for a moment, "Keep safe, Kyo-kun," And then she shut the door, for good this time.

As Kyo walked away, Tohru's words kept playing over and over again in his head,

'_Keep safe, Kyo-kun.'_

'_We should do this again sometime.'_

'_I had a really great time tonight.'_

Kyo smiled to himself,_ 'Yeah,'_ he thought, _'me too.'_

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**A/N: Well there you have it! The next chapter isn't as exciting but I wouldn't say it's a completely terrible chapter. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it, and remember, the more reviews I get, the more likely I am to update sooner.**


	10. Hana & Tohru

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. But in my dreams, I do. In my dreams I also own a spaceship and a blue bunny with orange polka dots.**

**A/N: I would just like to say I was extremely happy with all the reviews I got,(6 whole reviews: D) so many thanks to all of you. Again, I apologize in advance as this chapter is not very interesting, the next one may be though, I can't quite remember at the moment. Also, my spring break has now come to a close, so it will be a little while longer before I can update again as I have this HUGE research paper to write for English. Unfortunately, it requires interviewing people, and I have yet to interview any of them since I am a procrastinator. But enough about me, I hope you all had a lovely spring break or weekend or whatever, and thanks to my lovely reviewers for reviewing.**

**Coletterby: Hee Hee glad you like the story that much. Interesting name by the way. What is it supposed to mean/stand for/etc.? Thanks for reviewing!**

**i-smite-you-all: I'm glad you like the story. Thanks for reviewing!!**

**arielrocks: Thank you very much! I hope that the story can keep living up to everyone's expectations!**

**JLrocks23: I feel so honored to hear you say that! Not that I want you to be sad or anything, but I'm so happy you enjoy it so much!!**

**crazygirl: Thank you! I love this pairing too! They're soooo cute!**

**30 Seconds to YOUR MOM.: hee hee another very interesting name! Glad you like the story! thanks for reviewing!!**

**Chapter 10: Hana & Tohru**

Saturday, September 12 (night)

-Hanajima-

Saki Hanajima started to pick up some particularly unusual waves Saturday night, emanating from one of her best friends, Tohru Honda.

Unfortunately, Hanajima was too far away from Tohru to decipher what her waves meant exactly since they were all muddled and confused.

"I think I'll give Tohru-kun a call in the morning…" she said to herself thoughtfully.

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Sunday, September 13 (morning)

-Tohru-

Tohru slept in on Sunday until at least noon. She may have slept in longer if the phone hadn't rang and woken her up.

Tohru was exhausted. All the anxiety form her 'date' with Kyo yesterday had worn her out. It probably also didn't help that she had spent most of last night lying awake in bed, playing out all the events of their 'date.'

(Anyways, getting back to the phone call…)

Tohru woke suddenly at the sound of the phone ringing. She rolled over on her side and smiled when the first thing that met her eyes was the picture of herself and Kyo sitting on the roof. She paused for a moment, her full attention on the photograph.

"Kyo-kun…" she whispered, her thoughts swimming as all the memories of the previous night started to fill her head once again.

The phone rang again. Tohru snapped out of her trance and picked up the phone.

"Hello…?" Tohru said into the receiver groggily.

"Hello, Tohru-kun. Long time, no see," Hanajima replied.

"Hana—(yawn)-chan!" she said, "sorry about that. I just woke up," she added sheepishly.

"No need to apologize, Tohru-kun," Hanajima said, smiling slightly at the other end of the phone line.

"Mm, k," Tohru replied sleepily, "So what's new with you Hana-chan?"

"Nothing, really, if truth be told. What about you?" Hanajima said casually, even though this last reason was really the whole reason she had made the call in the first place.

"Oh, you know! Same old, same old," Tohru replied, not telling the whole truth.

"Hmm…interesting…"

"Eh?!" Tohru said, confused.

"Tohru, I know something's going on and I want to know if there's anything I can do to help. Yesterday, I sensed swirling waves emanating from you and even as we speak now I can just barely hear them. Please, tell me what is troubling you," Hanajima said. Then she remembered something, "Does this have anything to do with you seeing Yuki and Kyo Sohma again by any chance?"

"Eh?! But how did you know…?"

"Arisa told me," she replied simply.

Tohru was slightly taken aback by Hana's mini speech, but none-the-less she decided to tell Hana the truth, knowing that she'd be able to tell if Tohru was lying anyways.

"Umm…Hana-chan?" Tohru asked tentatively.

"Yes?"

"Have you…uh…Have you ever…--been in _love_?" Tohru finally managed to say.

Hanajima mulled this over for a moment before responding, "Well, as far as _romantic_ love then, no. I can't say I have been. But I do have lots of experience with other types of love."

"Ah! Yes. Well, um, do you know what it's like to want to be with a person all the time because you really care about them and they're almost always on your mind?" Tohru asked.

"Yes. I think I do understand," Saki said.

"Well then I guess you could say that's what I'm so confused about right now. Lately, I feel like I've just been bombarded with those feelings," Tohru said.

'_I bet it's Kyo Sohma,_' Hanajima thought, _'I always sensed that Tohru kind of had feelings for him.'_

"Well, don't dwell on them too much Tohru-kun," Hanajima said, "I'm sure you'll get it all sorted out soon."

"Okay, Hana-chan," Tohru said.

"Well, unfortunately I must leave you now Tohru-kun, but I promise we'll see each other again soon," Hanajima said dramatically.

"Okay! Good-bye, Hana-chan!"

"Good-bye…"

**A/N: PEACE OUT!!!!!!**


	11. EMAILS

**A/N: I don't feel like typing out individual thanks for reviewing at the moment, but thank you all for reviewing. Here's an update (finally). Sorry it's such a bad chapter.**

**Disclaimer:**** I own Fruits Basket about as much as I own a social life: I DON'T.**

**Chapter 11: ****EMAILS**

Monday, September 14

-emails-

To: BIG NEWS!!!!

Dear Tohru,

How are you? I hope you are doing well and are not over-exerting yourself at your job. You have to be careful not to worry too much, it's unhealthy.

Anyways, that aside, I suppose I'd better get to the main point of this email here. My reason for emailing you is this: I proposed to Machi on Thursday. AND, she accepted.

Now Tohru, I want you to breathe in and out. I want you to put yourself in a happy place and calm yourself down since you are undoubtedly spazzing out at the moment.

Are you okay now? I sure hope so.

Anyways, the wedding and wedding reception is scheduled to take place on the 24th of December. Hopefully, this does not interfere with any Christmas plans you may have, but if it does, I completely understand. Also, the wedding reception is somewhat doubling as a Christmas party, so that's something you might want to take note of.

The wedding is going to be smaller and simpler, but the wedding reception/Christmas party should be a considerable size.

Please email me back and let me know if you are able to come.

Yours truly,

Yuki

P.S. If you would like to invite your friends Uotani-san and Hanajima-san to the reception for me, I would much appreciate it as I don't seem to have their number. Plz&thnx.

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Tuesday, September 15

To: Re: BIG NEWS!!!!

Dear Yuki-kun,

I AM SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, I am available on that day and I am so honored to be invited to such a wonderful event! Also, I invited Hana-chan and Uo-chan for you and they said that they would love to come!!!

So I guess we'll all see you then!

Love,

Tohru

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Thursday, September 17

To: Announcement

To my all of my family and friends and other strange, random people I happen to know:

As some of you are already aware, Machi and I are engaged. You may consider this an invitation to the wedding reception. The actual wedding ceremony will not be very big so only the bridal party will attend and everyone else will all just meet up at the reception/Christmas party afterwards.

When: December 24

What: wedding reception/Christmas Party

Who: Me and Machi

Where: the restaurant/dance place/club thing called "Tokyo Pop" located downtown

Hope to see some of you there!

-Yuki

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**A/N: The bridal party consists of:**

**Manabe****: 'Guardian' of Machi (give Machi "away")**

**Ayame****: 'Guardian' of Yuki (give Yuki "away") (A/N: I am aware that this is not a normal custom, but the Sohmas aren't normal and I just thought that Ayame would probably put it upon himself to do something like that)**

**Maid of Honor:**** Kimi**

**Best Man:**** Haru**

**Bridesmaid****: Tohru escorted by ****Usher****: Nao**

**Flower girl****: Kisa ****ring bearer****: Hiro**

**A/N: Yeah, I know, it's not a great chapter, but deal with it. I have a sore throat right now anyways and I feel pretty shitty since all my friends are doing something today and I'm not, so I don't really care how bad of a chapter it is. (Sigh) But what can you do? Maybe, if I'm lucky, my mom will take me to Borders tonight so I can get a new manga book and feel better about my lack of a social life. Anyways please review and make me feel better about my non-existent social life. Reviews make me happy. : )**


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